Step by Step Guide to Building a Gravity Forms API Integration in C#

Introduction

Hey there, fellow developer! Ready to dive into the world of Gravity Forms API integration? You're in for a treat. We're going to walk through building a robust C# integration that'll have you pulling forms, submitting entries, and managing data like a pro. Let's get cracking!

Prerequisites

Before we jump in, make sure you've got:

• Visual Studio or your favorite C# IDE
• .NET Core 3.1 or later
• Gravity Forms API credentials (you've got these, right?)

Setting up the project

First things first, let's get our project off the ground:

1. Fire up Visual Studio and create a new C# Console Application.
2. Install the following NuGet packages:

   Install-Package Newtonsoft.Json
   Install-Package RestSharp
   

Authentication

Alright, let's tackle authentication. We'll create a base client class to handle this for us:

public class GravityFormsClient
{
    private readonly RestClient _client;
    private readonly string _apiKey;
    private readonly string _privateKey;

    public GravityFormsClient(string baseUrl, string apiKey, string privateKey)
    {
        _client = new RestClient(baseUrl);
        _apiKey = apiKey;
        _privateKey = privateKey;
    }

    protected RestRequest CreateRequest(string resource, Method method)
    {
        var request = new RestRequest(resource, method);
        request.AddParameter("api_key", _apiKey);
        request.AddParameter("signature", CalculateSignature(resource));
        return request;
    }

    private string CalculateSignature(string resource)
    {
        // Implement signature calculation here
        // Refer to Gravity Forms API docs for the exact algorithm
    }
}

Fetching Forms

Now that we're authenticated, let's grab those forms:

public class FormsClient : GravityFormsClient
{
    public FormsClient(string baseUrl, string apiKey, string privateKey)
        : base(baseUrl, apiKey, privateKey) { }

    public async Task<List<Form>> GetFormsAsync()
    {
        var request = CreateRequest("forms", Method.GET);
        var response = await _client.ExecuteAsync<List<Form>>(request);
        return response.Data;
    }
}

Submitting Form Entries

Time to submit some entries. Here's how we'll do it:

public class EntriesClient : GravityFormsClient
{
    public EntriesClient(string baseUrl, string apiKey, string privateKey)
        : base(baseUrl, apiKey, privateKey) { }

    public async Task<int> SubmitEntryAsync(int formId, Dictionary<string, object> entryData)
    {
        var request = CreateRequest($"forms/{formId}/entries", Method.POST);
        request.AddJsonBody(entryData);
        var response = await _client.ExecuteAsync<SubmissionResponse>(request);
        return response.Data.EntryId;
    }
}

Retrieving Form Entries

Let's fetch those entries with style:

public async Task<List<Entry>> GetEntriesAsync(int formId, string search = null, int page = 1, int perPage = 25)
{
    var request = CreateRequest($"forms/{formId}/entries", Method.GET);
    request.AddParameter("search", search);
    request.AddParameter("paging[page]", page);
    request.AddParameter("paging[page_size]", perPage);
    var response = await _client.ExecuteAsync<List<Entry>>(request);
    return response.Data;
}

Updating and Deleting Entries

Let's round out our CRUD operations:

public async Task UpdateEntryAsync(int formId, int entryId, Dictionary<string, object> entryData)
{
    var request = CreateRequest($"forms/{formId}/entries/{entryId}", Method.PUT);
    request.AddJsonBody(entryData);
    await _client.ExecuteAsync(request);
}

public async Task DeleteEntryAsync(int formId, int entryId)
{
    var request = CreateRequest($"forms/{formId}/entries/{entryId}", Method.DELETE);
    await _client.ExecuteAsync(request);
}

Error Handling and Logging

Don't forget to wrap your API calls in try-catch blocks and log those responses:

try
{
    // API call here
}
catch (Exception ex)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Error: {ex.Message}");
    // Log the exception
}

Testing the Integration

Time to put our code through its paces:

[Fact]
public async Task SubmitEntry_ShouldReturnEntryId()
{
    var client = new EntriesClient("https://your-site.com/wp-json/gf/v2", "your-api-key", "your-private-key");
    var entryData = new Dictionary<string, object>
    {
        { "1", "John Doe" },
        { "2", "[email protected]" }
    };
    var entryId = await client.SubmitEntryAsync(1, entryData);
    Assert.True(entryId > 0);
}

Best Practices and Optimization

Remember to:

• Implement rate limiting to avoid API throttling
• Cache frequently accessed data
• Use asynchronous methods for better performance

Conclusion

And there you have it! You've just built a solid Gravity Forms API integration in C#. With this foundation, you can extend functionality, build awesome features, and take your forms to the next level. Happy coding!